Optimus V ($49 target BF) or T-mobile Exhibit II

i'm currently torn between which one to get, i'm currently on a really old minute plan on virgin mobile, and kinda would like to stay with them, but the $30 (100min) t-mobile plan, does looks quite nice, and there's 4G from them here (not full speed, a person at the local t-mobile called it '3g plus')

thoughts:
i use very few talk minutes, and don't text much either, would probably be using data the most (games, facebook, twitter)
i want a phone that i can use for the foreseeable future with out needing a new one to do anything, for a while (2.3 vs cheaply priced)
3.2 vs 3.7 screen size
600mhz vs 1ghz (how much difference does that make in games like angry birds, cut the rope and others in general?)
and flash support (read that the V both does and does not support it?)

leaning toward the t-mobile (seems like better overall?), but yet the price of the V is quite tempting and then i would only need to change phones not networks (and at $150 less over a year at $35 a month it would still be less overall)

another thought is Exhibit II vs. Optimus Slider but i haven't done as much research for that (are the two comparable at all?) and over only a year the slider would cost about $30 more to use

If I had the old $35 plan and good reception, I would stick with that as long as I could, especially since the phone will be so cheap.

The Exhibit II looks like a really nice phone for the price but 100 min is ridiculous, IMO. Even if I didn't use the phone much at all I wouldn't be comfortable with locking in to anything less than 300. And if you do decide to start doing more calling, the next step up for T-Mobile is $50 a month for unlimited talk/text and limited data (they call it unlimited but only 100MB of full speed is not unlimited to me). To get 2Gigs of full speed data and more than 100min, you'll end up paying $60 a month.

If you can afford the more expensive phone and higher bills then it could be worth it for the snazzier phone and faster speeds. However, the OV seems like a solid phone and that $35/mo plan you have grandfathered in is still a really sweet deal. If you can get a deal on the slider that would be even better, probably. But for $50 for the phone and $35/mo, I would take that deal.

my current plan is a pre 'beyond talk' years old pay-by-the-minute plan, using top-up cards and i can easily make it the 90 days without using it all, so 100 is more then enough for me

considering phones like this are a want not a need, and yea, money i'd say isn't all that great currently, think i probably won't get the V, and i'll wait for a good sale on a newer phone on VM or this one from TM

(wrong forum for this post, but don't want to start another thread, and probably can't move this one)

two new ones i discovered at t-mobile today: LG myTouch, and LG myTouch q

both cost more then anything mentioned so far off-contract ($250 for the q not don't know about the other, but same cost on-contract so maybe $250 too)

seems like the q is like the VM slider with a better processor and camera and slightly bigger screen (same 320x480 res though) and then the mytouch is a smaller triumpth, at 3.8in, and 480x800, 5mp camera, 720p video (last two also being better then the exhibit)

spec wise to me it seems like the mytouch might be the best option though the most costly of all, but i can't seem to find really anything about it except for 'first look', and unboxing type stuff about it (the forum for it here is empty too)

if i do jump ship from VM to TM, i'm wondering if there's any reason to get to exhibit, instead of the mytouch? (besides price)

If I had the old $35 plan and good reception, I would stick with that as long as I could, especially since the phone will be so cheap.

The Exhibit II looks like a really nice phone for the price but 100 min is ridiculous, IMO. Even if I didn't use the phone much at all I wouldn't be comfortable with locking in to anything less than 300. And if you do decide to start doing more calling, the next step up for T-Mobile is $50 a month for unlimited talk/text and limited data (they call it unlimited but only 100MB of full speed is not unlimited to me). To get 2Gigs of full speed data and more than 100min, you'll end up paying $60 a month.

If you can afford the more expensive phone and higher bills then it could be worth it for the snazzier phone and faster speeds. However, the OV seems like a solid phone and that $35/mo plan you have grandfathered in is still a really sweet deal. If you can get a deal on the slider that would be even better, probably. But for $50 for the phone and $35/mo, I would take that deal.

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100 minutes is ridiculous i agree. If you only need 100 mins for a whole month and so on, then its for those people. I hate the thought of only having that much and the thought of not being able to switch between a plan with more minutes once in a while since Tmo wont let you switch back after you "upgrade" to their $60 or $70

Use Grooveip and make calls over your 4g connection with your Google Voice number. That would give you a nice backup and unlimited minutes. I plan on making the switch to the Exhibit II, looks to be a much better phone than the Optimus v. Don't get me wrong, I love my V and wouldn't be switching but where I work for a month at a time the tower is being shut down. I haven't had service for the past week.